Happy New Year to you and your horses! I hope the new year is treating you well and you’re looking forward to a great year with your horse! Here's a preview of what I'm up to this year. . .

Rocky Mountain Horse Expo

We are excited to be invited back to present at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo in Denver for our 11th year! The Expo is March 8-10 at the National Western Stock Show.

We’ll have our booth with information on our clinics and a chance to win a free spot in our Creating the Ultimate Trail Horse clinic or an equivalent discount for one of our Advanced Trail Riding clinics this summer.

For the Expo this year, I’ll be sharing two brand-new demonstrations geared especially for trail riders.

“Trailer Loading – Reliable Steps to get your Horse to the Trail Head and Back Safely”: Friday 9am, Saturday 1pm and Sunday 9am in the Hall of Education Arena. This demonstration is open to 2 or 3 horses for the weekend. I’ll demonstrate tips for a wide variety of trailer loading issues as well as information for trailering your horse safely. If you have a horse with trailer loading issues of any kind, submit your application for me to use your horse for this demonstration. I’ll also have a chance for audience questions and answers at the end of the demonstration.

“Conquering Multi-Use Trails – Bikers, Hikers and Dogs, Oh My!”: Friday at 11am in the Event Center Paddock Arena, Saturday at 10am in the Stadium Arena and Sunday at 12:30pm in the Event Center Paddock Arena. This demonstration is open to 3 horses per session. In this demonstration, I’ll work with riders and their horses to prepare for meeting some common trail users you’ll find on many multi-use trails in Colorado. Come learn new skills for the trails as well as tips for interacting with other trail users.

These demonstrations are part of the “Ride with the Experts” program. This program is an excellent way to get your horse out this winter and learn tools you can practice right then and there. The audience can see your progress through the session (and weekend if you repeat topics) and see how well the methods work for riders like them. I’d love to have you work with me in this unique setting! To sign up, go to Rocky Mountain Expo Ride with the Experts to download the forms and submit them to the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo.

Volunteers Wanted for Expo Weekend: We’re looking for a few people to lend us a hand during the busy Expo weekend. We typically have one volunteer to man our booth during my demonstration and another volunteer to help at the demonstration. Usually people will trade duties for the second demonstration of the day. We’ll get you set with a day pass for the Expo as well as a parking pass and a Running D Ranch t-shirt to wear for the day. If you’ve been to one of my clinics or I’ve worked with you and your horse in lessons or training, we’d love to have your help!

2013 Clinics

We’re excited to offer some great trail clinics this year. Although it is a condensed schedule due to some other obligations and plans this year, these clinics are packed full of great learning opportunities for trail riders of all levels.

We’ll kick off our clinics this year June 21-23 with our Advanced Trail Riding clinic in a brand-new venue: Winding River Resort in Grand Lake, Colo. From this location, we’ll be able to explore areas in the western part of Rocky Mountain National Park. As with our traditional M Lazy C clinic, this clinic features loads of problem-solving on the trail, lessons on the trail both in a group and on a one-on-one basis and real-life applications of trail etiquette and riding in a group. The clinic is limited to just 10 riders and lodging fills up quickly so sign up and pack your bags!

In July we celebrate our 12th year of holding our one-of-a-kind Creating The Ultimate Trail Horse Clinic. If you are serious about wanting to get your horse on the trail or solve some common trail riding issues, this clinic is for you! This clinic has had portions of it copied over the years by many, but no one who puts this whole package together for you in one weekend. Make your reservations now for July 6-7 here at Running D Ranch. The big ball, the infamous water crossing and ever-changing bridge (complete with water underneath it) will be there. Will you? This is always the best weekend of the summer at Running D Ranch.

M Lazy C welcomes us once again August 3-5 for our Advanced Trail Riding Clinic. M Lazy C features a wide variety of trails and beautiful scenery we’ll see over the weekend. There will be lots of problem-solving as we go plus one-on-one lessons on the trail and group lessons during breaks. Truly a great way to perfect your skills as you go in this enjoyable setting. Even if you don’t have any big problems, I’ll show you how to improve your ride over the weekend.

There are a few more opportunities for hosting a clinic in 2013. We have packages available for both non-profit and regular groups as well as out-of-state hosts. Choose from one of our popular clinics or I’ll help you design your own to meet your needs. Contact me for more information.

New for 2013: Lectures

Want to put on an educational program for your group or clientele? I’m available to do lectures on training principles for trail riding and foundation horsemanship for a minimum of 1 hour to a full day. Contact me to put together a program tailored just for you. This is an excellent opportunity for rescues, saddle clubs, 4-H groups, veterinary clinics and farriers.

Equestrian Skills Park

The Equestrian Skills Park project in Colorado Springs/El Paso County is moving steadily along in the planning stages with the county. After going through the first approval process in December, we are now working on a vision statement, obstacles and layout, building plans, etc. We are going to need a lot of support in many forms for this project as it will be all volunteer and funded through donations. We are forming a group to work on this project in all phases, including maintenance on the final park – the Friends of the Equestrian Skills Park. We are working to set up our first meetings for the project in March. Once we have final approval of the location, we should have the official name shortly. Please visit my website for more information by clicking on the “Equestrian Skills Park” tab. We will also be putting together a Facebook page for the most up-to-date information.

Facebook

If you’re not already, be sure to become a Fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/debbie.bibb2. Visit every Friday for a free weekend training tip. Fans are also eligible for freebies at select clinics as well as other events. Hint: Become a Fan and visit Facebook each morning during the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo for a special contest giveaway each day at our booth.

Make 2013 the Year of Your Dreams with Your Horse!

Every year I talk to a large number of people who talk about what they would really like to do with their horses “someday”. “Someday” keeps getting put off year after year due to a wide variety of reasons, from time, lack of training, funds, etc. Unfortunately, they keep putting “someday” off further and further. If you’re in this boat, I want to encourage you to find a way to reach your dreams with your horse. Create your own plan, get help where you need it and go for it!

Last spring, my husband and I satisfied one of those “someday” goals. We finally got out and took his horse to his first ranch horse clinic. We had so much fun with him and my horse Classy, doing something different and seeing Hank experience cattle work for the first time. We were so happy we finally worked this into our schedule – it was actually our anniversary gift to each other. As with many other things we’ve done with our horses, their solid foundation and positive attitude we’ve instilled in our horses went a long ways in adding to our fun at the clinic.

This year, our quest for completing another “someday” goal leads us to Yellowstone National Park for a backcountry pack trip with our good friend Larry. We’ve got to condition our riding horses. Our pack horses will have to be conditioned as well, plus taught to stand for packing and carrying the packs along the way. We’ve got a plan and are already starting to work through it. We can’t wait to share our adventure with you – both those as we prepare and those on trip!